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First things first - this place is a death-trap. Simple as that. And it's quite likely to be worse now than it was when I went. But as I have a bit of an obsession about redundant old cinemas and theatres I left all common sense at the entrance.

The building still shows signs of its grand past but sadly any possibility of saving it looks pretty slim, although a Trust has been set up to try to preserve it and bring it back into use.

The four-storey building, designed by G. B. Rawcliffe, opened in 1894 as a music hall, before being converted to a cinema in 1938. It was last used as a bingo hall in 1995.

This gothic mansion was once owned by a doctor who released a mental health patient who sadly went on
to stab an 11 yr old girl to death. I believe he was pretty much chased out of his home by locals (they may or may not of have had burning torches)
Nice place though, there used to be more cars, but sadly there gone now.

This was my first ever trip down a mine. So a massive thanks to @EOA for making it happen and another massive thanks to @monk and his daughter for being excellent guides.

It was bloody awesome, I could've spent all day poking around the sheds at the top tbh. Underground however was just amazing. It's bloody big this place so a return visit over a couple of days with many more mine beers is a must.

History copied from the ever faithful Wikipedia. Obviously.

Maenofferen was first worked for slate by men from the nearby Diphwys quarry shortly after 1800. By 1848 slate was being shipped via the Ffestiniog Railway, but traffic on the railway ceased in 1850. In 1857 traffic resumed briefly and apart from a gap in 1865, a steady flow of slate was dispatched via the railway. The initial quarry on the site was known as the David Jones quarry which was the highest and most easterly of what became the extensive Maenofferen complex.
In 1861 the Maenofferen Slate Quarry Co. Ltd. was incorporated, producing around 400 tons of slate that year. The company leased a wharf at Porthmadog in 1862 and shipped 181 tons of finished slate over the Ffestiniog Railway the following year.
During the nineteenth century the quarry flourished and expanded, extending its workings underground and further downhill towards Blaenau Ffestiniog. By 1897 it employed 429 people with almost half of those working underground. The Ffestiniog Railway remained the quarry's major transport outlet for its products, but there was no direct connection from it to the Ffestiniog's terminus at Duffws. Instead slate was sent via the Rhiwbach Tramway which ran through the quarry. This incurred extra shipping costs that rival quarries did not have to bear.
In 1908 the company leased wharf space at Minffordd, installing turntables and siding to allow finished slates to be transshipped to the standard gauge railway there.
In 1920 the company solved its high shipping costs by building a new incline connecting its mill to the Votty & Bowydd quarry and reaching agreement to ship its products via that company's incline connection to the Ffestiniog Railway at Duffws.
Modern untopping operations at Maenofferen. The uncovered chambers of the Bowydd workings are clearly visible
In 1928 Maenofferen purchased the Rhiwbach quarry, continuing to work it and use its associated Tramway until 1953.
When the Ffestiniog Railway ceased operation in 1946, Maenofferen leased a short length of the railway's tracks between Duffws station and the interchange with the LMS railway, west of Blaenau Ffestiniog. Slate trains continued to run over this section until 1962, Maenofferen then becoming the last slate quarry to use any part of the Ffestiniog Railway's route. From 1962 slate was shipped from the quarry by road, although the internal quarry tramways including stretches of the Rhiwbach tramway continued in use until at least the 1980s.
The quarry was purchased by the nearby Llechwedd quarry in 1975 together with Bowydd, which also incorporated the old Votty workings: these are owned by the Maenofferen Company. Underground production at Maenofferen ceased during November 1999 and with it the end of large-scale underground working for slate in north Wales. Production of slate recommenced on the combined Maenofferen site, consisting of "untopping" underground workings to recover slate from the supporting pillars of the chambers. Material recovered from the quarry tips will also be recovered for crushing and subsequent use.

After discovering this place, reading a news article I decided to take a look. Theres not a great deal of history on this place other than the fact it was used as a home for ww2 soldiers after coming back from war. It's been home to several owners of the years however the place has fallen into disrepair. The manor is currently up for sale.

The explore itself went really well, after making our way through the grounds and finding an entrance, we were greeted with a stunning pool, with paintings on every wall. As we moved further on we found a sauna, bar, a superb inside courtyard, a huge basement complete with model railway and what looked like a full size tank made of wood, whoever previously lived in the manor was clearly very creative... The vast majority of rooms have Been emptied out however a few furnishings still remain. We made our way onto the roof when we noticed a man walking down the drive towards the manor, we noticed him walk around checking through the windows before leaving again. Must have been looking after the place and making sure nothing was damaged. We didn't get caught however so that's a bonus!

Since then we have been back however our original entrance had been sealed back up.

Had a look at this place while in the area back in March. The cars where the main attraction for me and they did not disappoint. Excellent examples of cars left to rust and rot until they finally fall in on themselves. The rest of the site consists of stripped huts with some being more interesting and less bear than others. A relaxed and pleasant half hour. Visited with non member Paul.
HISTORY
Known as Prisoner of war camp 116 was built in 1941 and located in Hatfield heath, just outside Bishops Stortford.
The camp mainly housed Italians until about 1943-1944 where it held German and Austrian prisoners aswell. It was known at one point the camp housed 750 prisoners
The prisoners had a relatively easy lifestyle here (Unlike the English prisoners in the German POW Camps) and could do voluntary work in the near by farm land in Harlow, they were picked up by the Land Girls and each prisoner had an allotted farm where they would work at.

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Oblivion State exists as an online forum to allow like minded individuals to share their experiences of Urban Exploration. We do not condone breaking and entering or other criminal activity and advise all members to read the FAQ articles about the forum and urban exploring in general. All posts are the responsibility of the original poster and all images remain copyright to the original photographer